Behind Closed Eyes
by Lucy of Gallifrey
Summary: SPOILERS if you haven't seen up to the 4th season! Merlin and Arther find themselves trapped in a dream world that seems a little too real. Can they escape before the kingdom falls or will they be stuck there forever? Merlin/Arthur Friendship. Possible magic reveal.
1. Chapter 1

Everybody was in a cheerful mood that night. The great dining hall was full of life - the long oak table nearly cascading with the fruits of the people's labor. Wild boar, pheasant, quail, baskets or bread, and pots of stew; there was so much food it was almost impossible for the people seated around the expansive spread to know where to begin. As the delicious smells permeated the air, Merlin sighed in exhaustion. He stood beside King Arthur, pitcher of water in hand, ignoring most of the dinner conversation. Actually, no - he ignored all of it, because he was so tired, he didn't think that it was even possible for him to even pay attention. His muscles still ached from training with the knights. Holding a heavy shield and supporting it under thunderous blows did that, he guessed. Despite his pleas, training always turned into a game in which the knights tried to see how long it would take each one of them to knock him to the ground. It was about as fun as it sounded. And it wasn't just that. Merlin found himself bored of mucking out Arthur's horses, polishing his armor, cleaning his room - it seemed like it was the same thing every day, nothing ever changing. Arthur this, Arthur that. What he wouldn't give for a nice long -

"Merlin."  
"Er- Merlin jolted out of his trance. He looked over at Arthur who happened to be frowning at him. Merlin quickly composed himself. He wondered if Arthur had said his name more than once and that was just the first time he'd happened to hear it. He hoped not. "Yes, sire?"

"More water," Arthur said, pointing. He eyed Merlin quizzically when he didn't respond right away. Finally getting the message, Merlin lifted the pitcher, but found that he was trembling way too much and before he knew it, the whole thing had slipped out of his hands and water had spilled all over the table, of course not one drop getting in Arthur's glass.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, unable to control himself. Yes, it was a banquet, yes, he was the king of Camelot, but Merlin's incompetence was ridiculous sometimes. "What is wrong with you?"  
Merlin spluttered out an incoherent sentence. He felt like such a fool. This had never happened before. He was usually so careful at banquets - he never made mistakes like _this. _

"I'm just tired, my lord," Merlin said. Well, wasn't that the truth.

Arthur glared daggers at him. "Tired," he repeated.  
Merlin sighed. Of course, he knew that his remark would be met with annoyance from Arthur - when didn't that happen? As Merlin went to go refill the pitcher, he wished that things could be different. He wished that Arthur didn't have to think of him as nothing more than an idiotic servant with no talent to speak of. He wished…He almost wished that Arthur could know who he really was.

But that could never happen. Merlin knew that much.

He was walking back to the dining room with more water now when he saw a girl. She was staring at Arthur in a sort of seductive manner that made Merlin a bit nervous. He wasn't really sure why. The girl - Merlin supposed that she was a servant from the visiting kingdom, something of that nature and nothing more. But past experiences caused him to be wary. He watched as the girl poured Arthur a new glass of water. When she had finished, she looked up at Merlin. It was almost as if she knew him. And then, all of a sudden, her voice was inside his head.

_Emrys. _

Shocked, Merlin dropped the pitcher of water for the second time that night. The girl simpered at him, her green eyes laughing. The clatter caused Arthur to look up, but not before taking a sip of his drink.

_How do you know me, _Merlin tried to ask, but the girl was already turning her back, leaving him standing there, slack jawed.

Arthur meanwhile, shook his head. "Idiot," he mumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

_Alright, so here's the next chapter! Next update is probably going to be a bit slower as I already had this written. But I am definitely going to keep working on this fic. Hope you enjoy and feel free to review - reviews make my day and are very much appreciated:)_

* * *

After a very long lecture from Arthur about working harder and not being so clumsy, Merlin opened the door to his chambers with a whoosh and clomped across the floor, so focused on collapsing onto his bed, he didn't even notice Gaius. He almost walked straight into him and knocked a potion out of the man's hand.

"Merlin, watch where you're going," Gaius reprimanded.

Merlin apologized and then sighed.

"Is everything alright?" Gaius asked, worry lines appearing on his face.  
Merlin nodded, and then remembered the strange incident with the girl. He almost said something about it but then quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. He realized that it probably wasn't that big of a deal. After all, it wasn't like she had poisoned Arthur! Yes, it had been suspicious. A stranger, a complete stranger, pouring the king's water - that was supposed to be Merlin's job - not that he was complaining (he definitely wasn't) but regardless, everything seemed perfectly fine. Arthur was same old Arthur. No one had died. All was well in Camelot.

"It's great," Merlin replied, realizing that it had taken him probably longer than it should have to answer. "Everything's great."

After passing a slightly bewildered Gaius, Merlin opened the door to his room and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Emrys. _

Cold, so cold. He had never been this cold before. Ever. Merlin groaned, his eyes opened to find that it was still dark.

_Emrys. Look at me. Look at me, Emrys. _

"Shut up, I'm coming," Merlin grumbled. He sat up. And felt his breath catch in his throat when he noticed a shadowy figure - crouching in the corner of his room. Merlin couldn't make out what it was exactly, but magic was coming off of it waves. Not just any magic, either. Bad magic making Merlin's stomach twist itself up into knots. And there wasn't just one of the shadow things either. There were more.

Merlin lit the candle on his bedside table as fast as he could. For some reason, he had some trouble preforming what usually was a simple action. Ordinarily, he was able to use his magic without even thinking about it. But now - it actually took him about half a minute to find the strength to create the fire. When he had finally succeeded, the candle's light allowed him to see the shadows better - except, after a quick sweep of the room he found that... they weren't really shadows. They seemed thicker than shadows, realer than shadows, but they were as black as the night and they had no eyes, no faces. One of them looked like a wolf or a dog of some sort. The others looked like people and wore armor and helmets so Merlin supposed that they were knights. There were a couple more of the creatures, but their bodies almost seemed to meld with the surrounding darkness, making it hard to see what their forms were exactly. But the fact that there were _things _that were there and definitely weren't supposed to be terrified Merlin. And his magic...Where was it? It was like it had been sucked out of him.

_Oh, poor thing. _The wolf shadow was speaking. _It's scared..._

Another shadow spoke.

_Let's kill it now. _

The shadow's harsh laughter ripped at Merlin's ears and tore at his heart. He tried frantically to think of a spell - a good, powerful one, but he found himself too distracted. It was like a thousand people were stepping on him and holding him back, preventing him from moving.

_You're trapped, Emrys. You can never escape. _

_And neither can Arthur. _

Arthur? No, not Arthur. They couldn't hurt him. Merlin felt the beginnings of a spell trickle into his mind at the shadow's harsh words.

_How do you think he'll feel when we kill his beloved pet?_

That did it.

Before the shadow could finish its last word, the words to an incantation jumped into Merlin's mouth. He spat them out quick as a flash and before he knew it, a bolt of power was shooting from his fingers. The shadows howled in pain and anger, and Merlin took that as his chance to leg it for the door. He didn't think he'd killed them, but he'd definitely incapacitated them. For now.

When he ran out of his room, and out of the main room, Merlin felt strange memories coming to life. He was so confused. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

And Merlin soon figured out what it was. Gaius. Where was Gaius?

Merlin frowned to himself and then…  
"Oh, it's a dream!" he said aloud. It had to be. That explained his magic not working very well, and Gaius not being here. But unlike the times when he finally realized that he was dreaming, Merlin did not wake up.

Panic spread through him. And when he walked out onto the street, it didn't stop. If anything, it intensified. The air was absolutely freezing - so cold in fact, that Merlin's bones felt like they had turned to ice right then and there. There was no sign of the market, no sign of life. Camelot was a desolate place. A sudden creak cut through the air - so loud it was like thunder - and Merlin almost had a heart attack. When he realized that it was just the Tavern sign swaying in the gentle wind, it still took a while for him to calm his nerves. But after a moment of thought, Merlin decided that the best course of action would be to go find Arthur. The king was in danger after all. Wasn't he? Hadn't- Merlin couldn't seem to remember anything. Anyway, if he couldn't find Arthur, he could at least find somebody else. Anybody. He had to get help. Oh, how he wished Gaius were here.

Merlin started to head towards the castle, but then a sound that turned the blood in his veins as cold as the surrounding air stopped him short. The laugh of a shadow. Heart rattling in his chest, Merlin could feel nothing but fear and annoyance all mixed into one. He thought he'd bought himself enough time with that spell! How could this be happening? Whipping around, he saw the wolf shadow and two knight shadows creeping towards him. The incantation that had been on his lips disappeared from his brain instantly, and seized with fear, Merlin found himself so shaken, he couldn't even take a backwards step. Maybe this wasn't a dream after all. Maybe this was real. How could it be a dream? If it was, he would be awake by now.

Still feeling like he was glued in place, Merlin found that no thoughts that he was having were making this situation any better. But just before the wolf shadow reached him, there was the sound of hoof-beats behind him. And after that, all Merlin remembered was blackness.


	3. Chapter 3

The next thing he knew, Merlin found himself in Arthur's chambers, with absolutely no understanding of how he had gotten there. He looked around, utterly confused. Hadn't he just been attacked by one of the strange shadow creatures? Merlin didn't know what to think; a nervous feeling he was getting in the pit of his stomach was making his mind much too jumbled and disoriented.

Then an all too familiar voice cut through the air. "Ah, Merlin, there you are," the voice said. "Late again, I see."  
Merlin turned around and saw Arthur, standing there watching him with that 'there better be a damn good explanation for this' expression on his face.

Arthur. Suddenly, the memories of the banquet came flooding back. How had he forgotten all of that? The girl - the pitcher of water - It was so obvious that she had had something to do with this, because how else could all of this happen in such a short amount of time?  
"Arthur, this is a dream," Merlin said, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to say.

Arthur said nothing for a long while. When he finally did, it was in a bored voice, "Seriously, Merlin, the things you come up with…"  
"No, I'm serious!" Merlin was so irritated with Arthur's obliviousness he almost started to hyperventilate. "Don't you remember? At the banquet, there was this girl, and she put something in your drink. I know she did! And somehow, she got us stuck here in this place-

"I don't- Then realization passed over Arthur's face. He was getting it. "Wait…"

But before he could finish his sentence, the air suddenly got colder, much like it had when he'd been outside. Dark magic permeated every inch of space in the room, filling Merlin's body with fear. Merlin shut his eyes. He wasn't going to let it get to him. He couldn't.

"What is it?" Arthur asked. His voice sounded far away.

_Emrys. _The way the shadow spoke his name raised goose bumps along Merlin's arms.

"They're coming," Merlin breathed. "They're coming for you."  
"What's coming?"  
As if in answer, the door blew open and two shadows crept towards them. For the first time in a while, Merlin felt magic swirling around in his veins. But Arthur was right there with him. He couldn't use it, not here. Not now. One of the shadow creatures - a person so disfigured it was hard to tell what it really was - began to howl - a high pitched keening sound that caused Merlin to cover his ears. But when he heard Arthur groan, Merlin lowered his hands and turned to face the king. What he saw almost made him stumble backwards a few paces. Blood was seeping through Arthur's white shirt and Merlin stared, not knowing whether to be scared or confused. How could this be happening to Arthur when the creature had only spoken? It made no sense.

But Merlin had no time to puzzle it over, because he knew that he couldn't let this happen; he couldn't let Arthur die. It was a dream anyway. If Arthur found out about his magic here, it wouldn't matter. But at the same time as he thought this, Merlin knew that from what had happened so far, this wasn't just any ordinary dream.

"Arthur, they're not real," Merlin said. "Don't look at them. It's a dream, remember?" His voice was shaky. He wasn't even sure if he believed his own words.  
Arthur was unsteady on his feet. He rested his hand against the bedpost, panting. Merlin knew that he had no choice; it was now or never. The shadow started to keen again, but Merlin cut it off. He uttered a spell - more powerful than the one that he had cast in his room and a mass of energy shot from his hand, consuming the shadows. They were not totally destroyed, but they were incredibly angry, to say the least. Roaring in anger, their bellows were so loud it felt like every object in the room including the room itself trembled in fright. Merlin heard Arthur sink to the ground, and as the shadows stopped yowling and skittered off, snarling under their breath, Merlin grabbed Arthur by the hand. He tried to get him to sit up, but he was losing blood faster than Merlin could count and was already becoming weak and distant. "Oh no," Merlin said. What a great thing to say, but the words were the first two things that popped out of his mouth.

"You're a sorcerer," Arthur whispered. "I-I- saw you-

Merlin heard what Arthur was saying, but he was focusing so much on the blood that he didn't even think to reply. He tried to think of a spell, but he found that he was much too tired to do so, and even if he could, it wasn't like he would have the energy to perform it after chasing the shadows away.

"We have to get you to someone," Merlin said. But he wasn't sure if he could carry Arthur anywhere and he wasn't sure how much time he had. "The shadows. They'll be back. I'm sure of it."  
"Always the optimistic one," Arthur murmured, for the moment forgetting about what he had seen Merlin do. Arthur was weak, too weak to think properly and his voice was slipping away; actually now that Merlin glanced around, the whole world seemed to be slipping away, his surroundings getting fainter and fainter all the while.

Merlin then realized something that he should have realized before but hadn't thought of. "This has to be your dream," he told Arthur.

"Well, if it is, then what the hell are you doing in it?" Arthur asked. If he'd been uninjured, his words may have sounded a bit more aggressive, but now that he was fading fast, Merlin had to strain to hear anything the king said.

"I don't- Merlin began.

"Figures, you're always snooping about in places you don't belong-

And then the world vanished and Merlin woke up with a gasp in his own bed. His heart hammered against his chest, but he was relieved. He had finally woken up. Maybe this wasn't as bad as all that. Maybe the banquet had been a dream too. Or if it hadn't, the thing with the girl had been nothing at all. Merlin walked out of his room, failing to notice the recent scorch marks on the wall.

"Merlin?"  
"Gaius!" Merlin cried excitedly. "It's good to see you. I had the worst dream ever."  
Gaius said nothing for a long time.

"Um, Gaius?" Merlin waved a hand in front of the man's face. He appeared to be staring at something behind Merlin. Merlin felt an uneasy feeling travel up his spine, and turning around, he braced himself for what he would see. It was a cat. A black cat; it sat on the windowsill with its wispy tail curled around its even wispier paws. Merlin blinked. No. No. It couldn't be. It wasn't a black cat - it wasn't a real creature at all. It was…a shadow. Before the thing could make a noise, Merlin uttered a spell under his breath. It didn't work the first time, and the shadow crept closer, arching its back as if in warning. Merlin wondered why the thing didn't speak. He guessed that the keening wouldn't work on him because of his powers, after all he hadn't been affected in Arthur's room, or perhaps the shadows just hadn't wanted to target him. Maybe this shadow was trying to enter his body, possess him or something. Merlin didn't know and he didn't want to stick around to find out. Another time with the spell and the cat, hissing, darted away, vanishing in an instant.

"It's still a dream, Merlin," Gaius said, his voice echoing in Merlin's ears as the warlock turned around to face him. "You are in danger and so is Arthur. If you die here…you will never return to the real world."

"Oh, no, Arthur!" Merlin suddenly remembered. "He's hurt. Gaius, you have to help him!" Merlin was so annoyed with how this dream was jumping all over the place. First, he was outside, then he was in Arthur's chambers, then he was in his room. It was Arthur's dream, and the king couldn't control it properly whatsoever. Figures. If only it was Merlin's own dream. But it wasn't, and more important matters were at hand, matters so important that Merlin couldn't waste time complaining to himself.

"We have to hurry," he said, and pulling Gaius along, rushed to find Arthur.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I changed the title from Trapped to Behind Closed Eyes, because I liked it better, but I'm still not sure. What do you guys think?_


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